Sven set for frantic summer

ANYONE that interpreted City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra's recent words as signposting a quiet summer for the Blues should think again. The owner may be talking about simply bringing in one new player for each department of the team, but the reality is sure to be different.

ANYONE that interpreted City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra's recent words as signposting a quiet summer for the Blues should think again.

The owner may be talking about simply bringing in one new player for each department of the team, but the reality is sure to be different.

By the time the manager and his staff have sorted through who they want to keep and who they want to let go, there could be as few as 15 senior players left in the squad, way short of the 23 or 24 Eriksson believes to be the optimum number.

And that means there might be as many as eight or nine new faces through the door at Carrington in the summer - virtually the same number as 12 months ago.

The chairman has said there will be money available in the off-season, most probably around the same £35m-40m or so Eriksson spent on fresh faces in his first campaign - and there are bound to be sales receipts to add to that total.

Just how many players the Blues will need to bring in may yet depend on how successful they are at unloading the loan signings that are currently dotted around Europe.

Rolando Bianchi, at £9m the most expensive purchase of last summer, is currently at Lazio where he has scored twice and been sent off once since his departure at the end of January.

His countryman Bernardo Corradi, who still has a year-and-a-bit left on his City contract, is on temporary secondment at Parma, where he has scored five times at a ratio of one every four matches.

Both men have expressed a wish to remain at their present loan clubs if deals can be sorted out, as has Georgios Samaras, who has been a regular scorer from the bench for Celtic.

If all three can be sold in the summer, then Eriksson could be looking at another £12m for his kitty and plenty of room for manoeuvre on the wage bill when it comes to wheeling and dealing.

Cull

It is among the strikers where the biggest cull looks sure to come, with Paul Dickov leaving at the end of his contract and Emile Mpenza's rolling year-on-year deal unlikely to be renewed after he failed to make the necessary impact.

That will leave Valeri Bojinov, Benjani, Felipe Caicedo and youngsters Ched Evans and Danny Sturridge as the strike force. All but Benjani are still relatively untried at Premier League level.

Eriksson, if he can sell the loan players, looks likely to bring in at least one or two hitmen in the summer. It would be great to think that one of his targets might be Tottenham's Robbie Keane or someone of that ilk, rather that an ageing Galactico to put bottoms on seats.

The best way to fill a stadium is not by signing over-the-hill superstars but to win games playing attractive football, as has been shown this year when the Blues' attendances under Eriksson have risen commendably by an average of 2,500 per game - an increase of around five per cent.

Others who are likely to depart this summer are the two Mills boys - Danny and Matthew - goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Andreas Isaksson, utility man Jihai Sun and midfielder Geovanni.

That could, although not certainly, mean the departure of 11 players to add to Ousmane Dabo and Ishmael Miller, who left in January.

That leaves an awfully large number of gaps to fill and doesn't take into account a possible surprise sale here and there should Eriksson believe it for the good of the club.

In addition to strikers, the manager will look to bring in at least one experienced goalkeeper willing to understudy and tutor future England star Joe Hart, and probably another defender.

He will also look to solve an imbalance that has plagued the Blues all season by bringing in a right-sided midfielder who is more of a traditional winger in the image of Martin Petrov on the other flank.

Although a variety of players have been used in that position this season - Vassell, Ireland, Elano and Geovanni, to name but four - none has made the role their own and Eriksson would dearly like a player in the mould of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott.

Eriksson will also want to stiffen up the midfield.

He needs competition and cover for Didi Hamann - a revelation this season, but not getting any younger - Gelson Fernandes and Michael Johnson.

The Swede will stick to his principles of passing football, on the ground, but knows he needs a couple of players who he can call upon to fight fire with fire when the Blues are up against it against the Premier League's less artistic sides.

In short, this summer promises to be as busy as the last one with Eriksson shaping his side for an assault on a top-six finish.